


Jealousy

by chailattemusings



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-31
Updated: 2013-08-31
Packaged: 2017-12-25 03:56:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/948352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chailattemusings/pseuds/chailattemusings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ray is jealous of all the attention Joel gets.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Jealousy

SFW, a bit of fluff, swearing. 1530 words. 

The third time. The _third. Damn. Time._ Ray growled, clutching his glass tight in his right hand. He breathed deep through his nose, channeling the anger. He watched Joel across the bar, as he smiled and thanked yet another girl for her number. The girl, who couldn’t be more than twenty five, giggled and bounced away, squealing to her friends about the hot guy at the bar.

Joel put the number in his back pocket, the same pocket in which he put the other two numbers from the other two girls. Ray chewed the inside of his cheek with a frown. He might complain, but he had no right. Joel was a lucky, single man who looked incredibly young and attractive for his age. He probably adored all the attention. He certainly smiled enough.

And Ray was nothing but a coworker glaring into his glass of water. If he had any guts, he’d walk up to Joel and give him _his_ number, to pile on top of the other three. Every time Ray tried to look at him, meet his eyes, he got shy and turned away. The chances that Joel would be interested in men at all, let alone Ray, were slim to none.

“Ray, get your ass over here!”

He looked up, and saw Michael waving from one of the booths. With a sigh, Ray stepped away from the wall and joined the Achievement Hunter crew, each of whom had a drink in hand.

“The fuck is your problem tonight?” Michael took a swig of beer, as Ray sat beside him on the red plastic seat. “You’re moping.”

“Nah, I’m good.” Ray swirled his water around, not interested in it any longer. “Watching you idiots get drunk is pretty entertaining.”

“If you’re not moping, why’re you not goin’ off about roses?” Gavin, across the booth from Ray, and clearly drunk, eyed him suspiciously. “You’ve been bloody quiet all day, X-Ray.”

“Well, you know.” Offering no more explanation, Ray gulped half his water. He could picture Joel behind them, flirting endlessly. Maybe tonight would be a good day to end early and go to bed as soon as he got home.

“What’s up, motherfuckers!”

Speak of the devil. Joel approached their table, drunken grin slapped on his face. “It’s the ‘chievement dudes!”

“You’re trashed,” Geoff said from beside Gavin, grinning out the side of his mouth. “What do you want?”

“Nothin’, just sayin’ hi.” Joel reached back and dug into his pocket. Ray wasn’t surprised when he pulled out the numbers he got, waving them in their faces. “Thought I’d catch a ride home in a few, wanted to see you guys before I took off.”

“Wow.” Jack quirked an eyebrow, impressed. “The ladies love you tonight, huh?”

“You fuckin’ bet.” Joel grinned again.

“I need to use the bathroom.” Ray stood abruptly, shoving his way past Joel and through the crowded bar. Rather than head toward the bathroom, Ray made his way to the door and burst into the cool night. He was halfway out of the parking lot before he realized he still held his water glass. With a resigned sigh, he went back to return it.

The noise in the bar was a slight shock after being outside. Ray moved quickly, setting the glass on a random table and turning to leave again.

“Where’re you going?”

He was stopped by a tall, thin frame, and looked up into Joel’s confused, drunken expression. “Home,” Ray said, trying to make his way around. Joel put out an arm to stop him.

“Why? It’s not that late. You said you were usin’ the bathroom.”

“Changed my mind,” Ray muttered, and pushed Joel’s arm away. Instead of letting Ray walk away, Joel grabbed his shoulder. “Joel,” Ray said in warning.

“It’s no fun without everybody here.” Joel scrunched his eyebrows together, like he was thinking hard. “C’mon, we can go back to the booth.”

“Fuck off!” Ray snapped, yanking himself away. “I don’t want to sit here and watch you pick up more chicks, all right? Leave me alone.” Ray hurried through the crowd, back outside the bar, before he could regret his words. Joel stood watching, his hand stretched toward Ray.

* * *

The next morning, Ray went into work feeling like an asshole. Joel never did anything to him, and he was drunk up his ass that night. Ray didn’t have much right yelling at him.

But he couldn’t apologize. It would be awkward as hell, and odds were Joel didn’t care either way. With this mindset, Ray sat at his desk and started work editing videos. It was the best distraction he could think of.

No one commented on Ray ditching them, except for Gavin, who played it off with a joke. It wasn’t the first time Ray went home after deciding the group was too drunk to deal with. The hours passed slowly without event, Ray losing himself in the clicks and commentary for the latest Let’s Play.

When lunch time rolled around, Geoff called loudly, “Anybody want to get lunch with me?”

A chorus of agreement sounded, all except for Ray, who was buried deep in his editing. “We’ll bring you a sandwich,” Jack offered, to which Ray nodded without looking up. Soon the office was empty, the only noise Ray’s mouse clicking away.

It stayed that way for about ten minutes, when the door of the office opened. Ray barely noticed, assuming it was one of the guys. He kept his eyes on his work.

“Ray?”

The voice calling him made Ray pause, and put a hold on his work. He turned around and removed his headphones, surprised to see Joel standing by the doorway. Ray stiffened. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he said, “Yeah, Joel?”

The older man rubbed the back of his neck, and made his way into the office. “Uh, I wanted to talk to you. About last night, at the bar.”

Fantastic. Ray sighed. “Sorry about that,” he said, with a small smile. “I was tired, I had to get home.”

“I get that,” Joel said with a nod. “What I didn’t get was, uh, why you seemed upset by me picking up chicks.”

And, the day just went down the drain. Ray put a hand to his face, sighing again. “It’s been a while,” he decided to say. “Watching other dudes get girls is frustrating, that’s all.”

Joel moved closer, standing a few feet from Ray. They hadn’t been this close before, and Ray felt his heart pounding. “See, but I don’t think that’s it.” Joel looked him in the eye. “You’ve never made a big deal about getting laid.”

“S-sure I have.” Ray tried to laugh, and failed miserably. “Look, I have a lot of work-”

“Then tell me the truth.” Joel frowned. “Why didn’t you like seeing me pick up girls?”

Ray was cornered, and Joel knew it. Fuck it, YOLO, Ray thought, staring back at Joel. “Fine, you got me. I didn’t want to see you with girls because I was jealous. Fucking jealous. Can I go back to my work now?”

“Jealous of what?” Joel said, blocking Ray’s escape from the conversation.

“Of _them_ ,” Ray said, taking a deep breath. “They had the courage to ask you out, and I don’t. If that isn’t clear enough, I don’t know what else to say. I’m sorry for blowing up at you, it won’t happen again.” Ray spun his chair around, blushing madly and determined to forget he ever spoke those words.

Joel grabbed the back of his chair, harshly spinning Ray back around. He put both hands on the arms of the chair, glaring at Ray. “You never said anything about that,” he said in a low voice. “What the fuck does a young guy like you see in someone like me?”

Ray’s heart beat faster, and he looked away. “Does it matter? You clearly have enough women to choose from.”

Joel grabbed his chin, forcing Ray to look him in the eye. “Just because I _can_ choose, doesn’t mean I want to.” His nostrils flared, the tension between them rising by the second. “Stop avoiding the question and be fucking honest, Ray. Do you want to go out?”

Ray held his breath. He never thought he’d hear that from Joel. “Yes,” he said, fighting the urge to bite his lip. “I’d love to go out with you, Joel, but-”

“Fine, then.” Joel released him, stepping back. “Meet me at my car after work. We’ll get dinner, think of someplace you wanna go. See you later.” He gave a curt wave, and left the office.

Ray stared at the doorway, mouth agape, eyebrows permanently raised in shock. Joel asked him out. Joel Heyman asked him out.

Joel. Fucking. Heyman.

Turning slowly back to his computer, Ray replayed the scene in his mind multiple times. After a minute, he chuckled, and burst out laughing. It was just like him. It was so … so _Joel._

Ray glanced at the clock. One thirty. Three and a half hours until the day ended. His laughter dying down, Ray put his headphones over his ears and resumed his work. Five o’ clock couldn’t come fast enough. 


End file.
